World Keeper

Chapter 703: The Adventure Begins

Lifre stood in the library, staring at the aisles of shelves that seemed to occupy more space than the room should physically possess. Her brow furrowed as she took the intimidating presence of nearly limitless knowledge as a personal challenge, walking along the ends of the aisles. Her eyes scanned over the different subjects, ranging from the history of various countries to the complete guide to the runic language, and even an almanac of every reported monster throughout history.

“Let’s go… rune magic, today!” She nodded her head, retracing her steps to find the aisle containing numerous books labeled for this type of magic. Knowing it would only hurt her in the long run to start with anything too advanced, she grabbed several first tier books from the shelf and began walking towards the reading table nearby.

As she was sitting down, she heard a voice from behind her. “Well, this isn’t the kind of adventure that I thought I would find you on.” Lifre’s head twisted around on her neck at an unnatural angle to look at the owner of the unfamiliar voice, a blonde human dressed in blue and golden armor.

The slime girl thought it over for a moment, sure that she had seen her before. “Ah! You’re Bihena, the human Goddess of Politics and Water!”

Bihena’s eye twitched fiercely at how Lifre addressed her. “Battle, Peace, and Oceans.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry!” Lifre nodded, which only looked even stranger with how her neck was twisted. “So, what did you come to see me for? Tsubaki said that you guys make social calls, but nobody’s visited me yet!”

Bihena simply shook her head at that. “You have not been here very long yet, give it time. I’m actually here to give you an assignment.”

“...Is it more paperwork?” Lifre scrunched her face in distaste. “I already went over the taxes of the human kingdoms for the last ten years. Did you know that one of them is collecting a tithe in the name of using it as an offering to you? But the tithed goods eventually go back into circulation, so they definitely never made an offering like that…”

“I’ll look into that… but no, the assignment I have for you is a combat mission, and it is rather urgent. There’s a colony in danger and--”

“I’ll do it!” Lifre shouted from directly in front of Bihena, eyes gleaming with excitement. She had shifted into her liquid state and reformed so quickly that Bihena barely had the chance to see her. “It’s an emergency, right?! Send me over, I’ll take care of it!”

“Form a defensive line! Noncombatants, fall back to the portal and wait on the previous floor!” An elderly man holding a large staff called out, seeing cracks forming at various points along the wall surrounding the small town. It had been roughly two minutes since the first tremor, when the walls shook and everyone became alert.

The supply unit for the advanced expedition was still in the town, as they had been given instructions not to report the danger back to the convoy. Although there were numerous powerful figures in the convoy, they could not always rely on them for protection. Further, if anything happened to the guide within that group, they would lose their hope of ever reaching the next floor.

For now, this man was doing his best to guide everyone through the emergency procedures. As the leader of this layer’s adventurer’s guild, the task fell to him to protect the people. “Pars unt.” He muttered, his body lifting off the ground to get a better view of the surroundings.

Throughout the town, there was no small amount of panic, with the local enforcers doing their best to guide the non-combat personnel into the gate. Once they were done with their assigned sections, they would form a defensive line near one of the great cracks.

It’s not so bad. We should be able to survive this, at least. Though, depending on the strength of the enemy, we’ll need to rebuild the town. As he thought that to himself, he saw a much smaller crack appearing along the floor in an unprotected section of the city. Most of the tremors were caused by cracks forming over a dozen meters high, but this one was merely a few inches.

When he realized what this meant, his eyes went wide, aiming his staff towards the crack. ”Selasta neraj purank!” The tip of his staff lit up, a line of light drawing out from it to strike the base of the crystal wall, where it formed a barrier roughly two meters high.

Soon, he was able to see the crystal wall itself shattering at the base of the field, tiny claws and teeth scratching at the barrier he established. Then, the hole became wider, more creatures joining the mix. The guild master’s eyes trembled as he shouted. “Any mages specialized in area attacks, concentrate fire at the wall in sector thirteen, there is a swarm breaking through!”

Silence fell over the busy town when he made that call, as anyone who made it this far knew the dangers of a swarm. Within the various floors of Fyor, swarms came in a number of varieties, ranging from a standard cluster of small monsters to a deadly tide that could sweep across entire regions. Sadly, they had no way of knowing which type this swarm belonged to, so numerous casters began making their way over as they brandished their weapons.

The guild master could feel his mana being drained at an increasing rate, cracks forming along his barrier. After barely twenty seconds, he had become unable to maintain his magic any longer. With the first hole that appeared, beasts poured in like a flood, covering the floor around the hole. Each one appeared to be a crystalline scorpion, its pincers and mandibles tearing through anything in its wake.

“No need to fear, for I am here!” An unfamiliar voice shouted from within the city, causing the guild leader to glance over momentarily. What he saw was a girl with pure-white skin, looking no older than her late teens. She wore leather armor that covered her limbs and chest, but did not seem to wield any physical weapons.

The guild leader was unable to recognize the girl’s race, but had no time to pay attention to that. The first of the larger cracks had burst open, a clawed paw tearing away at the hole. The beast beyond the gap seemed to be some form of feline creature, judging from what could be seen through the hole.

“What? No applause?” The girl asked in a playful tone, before clapping her hands together. “Well, then! Let’s get this show on the road!” The guild leader did his best not to pay attention to her, focusing on other matters until her presence sharply rose, her voice speaking in a far more solemn tone.

“By my declaration, let the adventure begin. I call upon the strength within these individuals to bloom, that no challenge may break them. May the claws and fangs of the challengers dull, that they may be overcome. As the one guiding this adventure, these are the rules I have established.”

As her words finished, a pulse of power spread out within the town. When this pulse reached the guild leader, he let out a sudden gasp. His originally depleted mana came to life, solidifying the broken barrier he had previously cast to stem the tide of crystal scorpions. Even the expenditure of maintaining the barrier seemed less than before.

Golden glows wrapped around the weapons of the guards as they launched spheres and flame and lightning into the swarm, shattering the creatures with relative ease. Although the walls still broke down, the progress was significantly slower than before, with the crystal panther taking a full minute to create a hole big enough for its body to emerge.

As soon as it did so, it was beset by four sword-wielding enforcers, each brimming with ki as they slashed at the beast. Sharp cuts appeared all along its body, forcing it to let out pained cries as it fought back. Yet even so, its claws were unable to pierce the shields raised by the enforcers.

As more and more holes appeared within the wall, the pale-skinned girl held her hand out to the side. “Come forth, my blade!” She shouted, a golden sword forming in her hand. “The blade that pierces the heart of the enemy without fail, prove yourself!” Saying so, she jumped off the ground, lunging towards one of the taller monsters.

The tip of her sword was constantly shaking during her flight, as if seeking its target. Eventually, it surged forward in a chosen direction, the blade itself growing to massive proportions in order to cleanly pierce through the ape-like crystal beast. This unfamiliar goddess coolly held the handle of her sword, following it even as the beast fell back, standing on its chest after it was pinned to the ground.

Around the city, the tides of battle looked to be in the favor of the townspeople, each of which were showing strength far beyond their normal level. It was hard for the guild master to even believe that this was the same group that he had watched grow throughout the years. He himself was temporarily opening gaps in his barrier, letting small groups of the scorpion tide through at a time to slowly diminish the horde beyond.

Aside from a few buildings near the perimeter that had been swept up in the battle, the town itself seemed perfectly safe. Meanwhile, the girl stood on the fallen body of the ape, clutching the handle of the sword which had pierced through its heart.

While I admit that was quite impressive, I’m surprised you aren’t joining the rest of the fight. Aurivy’s voice spoke into Lifre’s mind as the slime girl calmly watched the battle unfolding around her. Every now and then, the hand holding the sword would twitch, as if eager to join in.

It’s not so simple. I can’t intrude on their battle. Lifre responded as enemy after enemy was cut down. Her divine power was being used to bring everyone to their peak condition, ensuring that their energies did not deplete. While it was not a terribly big expenditure, it was not exactly small, either.

How noble of you. I didn’t take you as the type to sit back and watch others fight. Aurivy chuckled, seeming impressed by Lifre’s attitude.

Noble? No way! My sword is stuck! Lifre’s complaint brought a pause from Aurivy, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to answer that.

It’s… stuck?

Yeah! When the big guy fell, it stabbed into the ground! I’ve been trying to pull it out ever since, but it’s stuck! A hero can’t let go of her sword before the adventure’s over, so I can’t just charge in unarmed, you know?

Aurivy was taken aback by the comment of the slime girl. Who came up with that rule?

I did… when I made the sword. It will surely pierce the vital spots of the opponent, even if it has to change its shape to do so, and will keep getting stronger until the adventure is over. But the adventure ends if I let it go. But, if I let it go and end the adventure, the buff I cast earlier will disappear. So I’ve gotta try to get my sword free so I can go fight!

Aurivy paused for a moment. Can’t you just make your sword shrink again, so it comes loose?

I uhm… might have also made it so that it can only revert to its normal size after it is pulled out, that way it looks more impressive. Lifre chuckled wryly as she informed the goddess of her predicament.

...Kind of shot yourself in the foot with that one. You might want to think about remaking your artifact when you get back to the citadel.

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